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A review by theaceofpages
Loveless by Alice Oseman
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"I was really quite lonely, and I wanted to be loved. Was that such a bad thing? To want an intimate connection with another human? I didn’t know."
This was a bit of a tough book to rate. I can tell why some people hate it, but I loved it.
So. First from a technical aspect. I can tell why some people don't like this book. The writing is a little frustrating at times. And the pacing was a little annoying. It started off kind of slow and repetitive. Until she realised she was ace. Then it picked up! I liked the pacing in the middle of the book but then the end felt rushed. And the ending was not the greatest?I'm happy Georgia found happiness but it felt too neat, but at the same time incomplete? I don't know if that makes any sense.
The representation however? So good! And I think that this is exactly why the book is so popular. That confusion and desperation to feel like you belong. That's you're normal. A lot of her feelings and emotions are definitely high school me. Although I went the opposite route and told myself that I didn't want a relationship because I needed to work on myself as it's not fair for someone to have to deal with the wreck I was. But that the right person would come along eventually and if it happened, it happened. So I never really went through that "oh my goodness I need to find someone" experience. Despite that, I still related to her. And both those experiences simply stem from a lack of representation. I'm glad people can at least find things online and in books now, even if it's still not taught in schools. But yes. Seeing someone who's emotions are the same as mine in a deep level for the first time is great, even if they manifest themselves differently! But I do also think that this is where a lot of the hate comes in from ace readers. One of the biggest complaints about the book I've seen is that it doesn't represent their experiences. I'm pretty sure it was clear that there are multiple experiences through other characters, especially Sunil's explanations! And they are also not aro and Jess is aro but not ace, so there's that. I've also seen that some people are unhappy with how other identities are represented. I mean, I kind of get it, but all the characters are well-developed. We also need to remember that the book focuses on an aroace person - and a lot of us have a lot of confusion about why romantic and sexual love are placed on such a pedestal and are such a focus for some people. That being said, I loved the focus on friendship. It's so often underplayed and represented as lesser, even though it can be just as if not more powerful than romantic love.
This was a bit of a tough book to rate. I can tell why some people hate it, but I loved it.
So. First from a technical aspect. I can tell why some people don't like this book. The writing is a little frustrating at times. And the pacing was a little annoying. It started off kind of slow and repetitive. Until she realised she was ace. Then it picked up! I liked the pacing in the middle of the book but then the end felt rushed. And the ending was not the greatest?
The representation however? So good! And I think that this is exactly why the book is so popular. That confusion and desperation to feel like you belong. That's you're normal. A lot of her feelings and emotions are definitely high school me. Although I went the opposite route and told myself that I didn't want a relationship because I needed to work on myself as it's not fair for someone to have to deal with the wreck I was. But that the right person would come along eventually and if it happened, it happened. So I never really went through that "oh my goodness I need to find someone" experience. Despite that, I still related to her. And both those experiences simply stem from a lack of representation. I'm glad people can at least find things online and in books now, even if it's still not taught in schools. But yes. Seeing someone who's emotions are the same as mine in a deep level for the first time is great, even if they manifest themselves differently! But I do also think that this is where a lot of the hate comes in from ace readers. One of the biggest complaints about the book I've seen is that it doesn't represent their experiences. I'm pretty sure it was clear that there are multiple experiences through other characters, especially Sunil's explanations! And they are also not aro and Jess is aro but not ace, so there's that. I've also seen that some people are unhappy with how other identities are represented. I mean, I kind of get it, but all the characters are well-developed. We also need to remember that the book focuses on an aroace person - and a lot of us have a lot of confusion about why romantic and sexual love are placed on such a pedestal and are such a focus for some people. That being said, I loved the focus on friendship. It's so often underplayed and represented as lesser, even though it can be just as if not more powerful than romantic love.
I feel like Georgia is the type of person who would actually look up what asexual means so I feel like her discovery was a bit drawn out. I would have loved it if she had found the term, panicked, and then tried to convince herself that nope, she can have those things! She got got on my nerves a bit at times, but it's okay. Her cousin seems cool. I liked that that was a way to show how verbally aggressive parents can be. Although, again, why does no one in this book seem to do any research? I love Sunil! Can we please have more about them? I just resonated so deeply with a lot of what they said. I just want to be their best friend and give them a big hug. I definitely preferred them to Georgia. I'd LOVE a book about them. And how they learned to accept themselves. And about how they help others accept themselves too. It's sad that everyone uses he/him pronouns though (although they are okay with either)
Be aware that this book contains a lot of internalised aphobia (as well as some external aphobia, including from parents and LGBT spaces) and can be rather painful to read at times. I had to take breaks to process at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Bullying, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Toxic friendship, and Outing
Minor: Homophobia